Each of the chapters in this exquisite, highly charged novel begins with the name of a Cuban bolero -- a style of music and dance written in 2/4 time that often tells a love story. In fact, the novel itself is a carefully choreographed bolero, alternating rhythmically between man and woman, past and present, ocean and land, fantasy and reality. The main characters, Fernando and Celia, are a well-to-do married couple whose newly married daughter has, up until her betrothal, been the glue that has kept them together. To "celebrate" their liberation from parenthood they are taking a long-planned Caribbean cruise during which they will visit a number of remote islands off the beaten tourist track. But nothing has prepared them for the real voyage they have embarked upon, one that forces them to confront their unspoken desires, fears, jealousies, and deceptions. Woven into the story is another tale of lovers whose passion and devotion to each other project in harsh relief the staid nature of Fernando and Celia's relationship. As this parallel story unfolds, and as the heady, sensual affects of the tropics work their magic, we watch as Fernando and Celia test the limits of their marriage in a wild and frenzied dance that brings them dangerously close to disaster.